New Bill to Verify Legal Citizenship For Mortgages

Congressman Kenny Marchant (TX) unveiled a new bill this month.

The Mortgage E-Verify Act would introduce as a condition that any applicant for modification of a home mortgage load held by Frannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or insured by the FHA, that the applicant be required to successfully pass through an E-Verify inquiry.

E-Verify is the federally mandated program that determines if someone is legally allowed to work and live in the United States. Marchant said, "E-Verify is a fantastic program which I have supported making permanent for employers. Mandating its use as a condition for home mortgage loan modifications would help eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the system and bring integrity to the process."

The bill is spurred by a major Nevada case where a mortgage company/branch manager conspired to manufacture and submit false employment and income documentation for borrowers, most of whom were illegal immigrants.

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Illegal Immigration: Cracking Down

All Federal contractors are required to process their employees through the government E-Verify program. It is an federally maintained electronic database system containing Social Security and other records. Now, cities across the US are getting in on the act.

Dallas' city areas have begun to adopt new requirements for city contractors in an attempt to tackle illegal immigration. "I want people we do business with to show they're doing their due diligence," said Lewisville city council member, John Gorena.

Though three states - Arizona, Mississippi, and South Carolina currently require all employers to make use of the system, Texas currently has no such requirement. The proposal was met with some criticism and opponents concerned about getting too involved in developing immigration policies.

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Cities Need Background Checks, Too

The city of Brownsville, TX is under fire by its citizens for mishandling city funds. The move to bring in large concerts has uncovered weaknesses in the cities budget planners including loosely drawn agreements and contracts has led the citizens of Brownsville to question their officials capabilities.

Among their largest concerns are the vendors the city chooses to do business with. Brownsville residents are considering requiring that the city perform background checks on the vendors before awarding contracts.

Not a bad idea. It's not hard to process a background check, and hard earned money it could save far outweighs the cost of such a test. The only lingering questions remain, if it is a large corporate vendor, how does the check get processed? Is the check done on the company itself (something that should be investigated prior to signing any contract) or on the individual who owns the company?

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Public Records To Remain Open in Austin, TX

Watchdog journalists are fighting the state legislature in Austin, TX. A bill by Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, would keep confidential information such as home addresses and cell phone numbers for public school teachers and employees. But journalists and open records advocates object to what they say is a deal breaker — removing the days and months of birth dates from open records.

Birth dates are used to differentiate common names from one another when searching criminal records. Obstruction of these dates could lead to a false accusations or exoneration. All teachers are required to undergo criminal background checks in Texas but journalists and open records activists believe in checks and balances when it comes to public school teachers.

"We've seen time and time again where school districts are supposed to run criminal background checks, and watchdog groups and journalists are the ones that point out loopholes in the system. This bill takes that watchdog role away," Elkins said.
Thursday's bill is one of several efforts in the Legislature to keep birth dates and other information about public employees private.

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Drug Tests for Food Stamps

A new bill is set to take effect in the state of Texas in September 2009. The bill requires that all applicants undergo a mandatory drug test for food stamps. Any test that is returned positive for illegal substances or for un-prescribed prescription drugs will disqualify the candidate for food stamps, making them ineligible for 1 year.

As many more Americans are losing their jobs, there is good indication that there will be a rise in demand for food stamps. Using tax dollars to supply them, its nice to know that there will be some accountability for those who apply for them.

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Liberty Screening Braces for Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike, measuring nearly 500 miles across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico is predicted to make landfall directly on the island of Galveston, only 40 miles south of Houston, TX, the headquarters for Liberty Screening Services.

There is a palpable buzz in the city of Houston right now. Citizens are gearing up for what could possibly be the largest storm the city has seen since 1900 when the entire island of Galveston was left devastated and 8,000 people lost their lives. Mandatory evacuations of low-lying and coastal regions across the gulf coast are in effect, with residents on higher ground being encouraged to shelter where they are.

Liberty Screening Services is located in the heart of the projected path of the storm. The map image below shows the path as projected by the National Hurricane Advisory, putting it across the highway from Liberty Screening with projected wind speeds of 100+ miles per hour:

So, what is Liberty doing to prepare for the storm? Business as usual! Our service depends on electricity, and right now, the high winds pose the biggest threat to our servers. Liberty is gearing up for a switch to our emergency servers located far out the reach of Hurricane Ike so that in the very likely event that the Houston office loses power, our customers won't. Preparations are being made for key employees to gather and post records, our biggest effort is to keep our customers hiring in the timely manner they've come to expect from Liberty.

The energy generated by Hurricane Ike in the citizens of the Gulf regions of Texas is incredible. Living and working in a city of 5 million people making preparations for a major storm is unreal as gas stations and grocery stores slowly run out of products. However, after the disasters of hurricane's Katrina and the non-threat (to Houston) that was Rita, the city is much more prepared to handle the storm, just as Liberty is.

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